SOME sires keep cropping up here, time after time, and it is no different this week. Summing up the action at Royal Ascot meant many mentions for Frankel, Dubawi and more, and these two pages will involve more of the same.

Frankel takes pride of place, thanks to the historic victory for Nashwa in the Group 1 Prix de Diane-French Oaks, a well-deserved success in the hands of Hollie Doyle. It was Group/Grade 1 winner number 22 for the Juddmonte behemoth, and his fourth winner at that level in 2022. Three of the quartet, Homeless Songs in the Irish 1000 Guineas, Inspiral at Royal Ascot in the Coronation Stakes, and now Nashwa, are fillies from the crop born in 2019.

It is interesting that these 22 are made up equally of boys and girls, and it is worth noting also the success enjoyed from sending daughters of Pivotal (Polar Falcon) to Frankel, himself a son of Galileo (Sadler’s Wells). Using that formula, Frankel’s first crop contained Cracksman, successful four times in Group 1 races, and winner of the Champion Stakes twice.

A year after Cracksman was born (2016), along came the Group 1 Falmouth Stakes winner Veracious. Frankel’s daughter Hungry Heart was born in Australia in the same calendar year as Veracious and she won their Group 1 Australian Oaks and Group 1 Vinery Stud Stakes.

Last year, at two, Wild Beauty – from the same crop as Nashwa – captured the Grade 1 Natalma Stakes in Canada, and now Nashwa is the fifth top level winner produced on the same cross.

Homebred by Blue Diamond Stud, Nashwa is the third foal and runner for her dam, and the second winner. Her half-brother Louganini (Zoffany) won a heritage handicap at Newmarket, the best of his three wins to date. Meanwhile, sunning themselves in Newmarket are a yearling filly by Decorated Knight (Galileo) and a colt foal by Dubawi (Dubai Millennium).

Nerses purchase

They are all out of Princess Loulou, a 310,000gns yearling purchase by Tony Nerses. A listed winner on her final racecourse appearance at Doncaster, and group-placed in Ireland, Princess Loulou was two lengths runner-up to Ribbons in the Group 1 Prix Jean Romanet, with Secret Gesture third, when she raced for Saleh Al Homaizi and Imad Al Sagar. She was trained by Roger Varian.

Sold to dissolve the owners’ partnership, Princess Loulou was retained for Blue Diamond Stud Farm in 2018, carrying Nashwa, for 300,000gns.

Princess Loulou was the best of the six winners out of Aiming (Highest Honor), and they were all of her runners. Aiming placed five times, but her five winning siblings included the dual listed winner Watching (Indian Ridge). Another winning sibling was Desert Lynx (Green Desert), and her grandson Awzaan (Alhaarth) won the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes.